What is the relation between poetry and unreality by Plato?literary criticism

Plato's fundamental belief is that all endeavors must strive to reveal the essence of "the form" or ideal of truth. To that end, poetry's construction of illusion or a version of truth that does not aspire to this end becomes dangerous because it can be accepted by so many others on such a wide level. Plato sets himself against the poets because he believes that only the philosopher will be able to embrace the form...

Plato's fundamental belief is that all endeavors must strive to reveal the essence of "the form" or ideal of truth. To that end, poetry's construction of illusion or a version of truth that does not aspire to this end becomes dangerous because it can be accepted by so many others on such a wide level. Plato sets himself against the poets because he believes that only the philosopher will be able to embrace the form or ideal notion of truth. The poet is not able to do this as he seeks to be appreciated by others and creates his art in the mode of others' appreciation. This is not an endeavor that brings humans closer to appreciating the transcendental notion of the truth because this is something that can only be embraced by the philosopher. This means that poetry is an exercise in unreality.

What is the question here? Are you asking about whether one perceives a truth in poetry that is much more than a literal fact and so approximates to Plato's explanation of the ideal form? I can try and answer this question if you will ask a specific question. You might be trying to understand the notion of Truth and Imagination (Dichtung und Warheit).